Hometown Heroes
Technical Sgt. Oakley J. Ragland, USAF
On October 20th 1944, a U.S. Air Force cargo plane was on a secret mission to Sweden, a neutral country during the war. The plane was a 4-engine bomber, converted to a cargo plane. This aircraft came from a Scottish airbase, RAF Leuchars, and was in-bound to a Swedish airfield near Bromma. This plane never made it.
The Crash Report indicated that upon arriving at Bromma, the station was closed due to low ceiling and bad weather. On proceeding to the alternate field the plane crashed into a 450-foot hill, cutting a wide and long passage through a densely wooded area. The weather was foggy and visibility was not too good. There were six crewmen killed in the crash including T/Sgt Oakley J Ragland who was their radio operator and gunner.
Oakley Ragland was born March 1, 1923, in Fort Screven in Georgia, a son to Oakley Ragland Sr. and his wife Maria. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother was remarried to Clarence H. Wetherbee in Thompson. Oakley had two half-brothers; Kenneth and Arthur. Oakley Ragland grew up in North Grosvenordale and graduated from Tourtellotte Memorial High School. He studied at the De Forest Institute for Radio and Communications in Chicago. He joined the Army Air Corps Nov. 25, 1941, in Hartford. He was trained in radio technology at the U.S. Air Force Radio School, Scott Field, Illinois and was trained in aerial gunnery at Kingman, Ariz. He got his wings in November 1942.
He left the USA in April 1943, but returned to marry Rosalie Juanita Burgess from Wellesville, Mo., on Sept. 12, 1943. While serving with the 8th Air Force, Oakley flew 32 combat missions as a radio operator and gunner on B-17 bombers. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters. His last assignment was with the 1409th Army Air Force Base Unit of ED-ATC, the European Division of Air Transport Command, United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF). According to Swedish officials, Oakley Raglund survived initially but died shortly after the crash. He is buried in Malmö, Sweden.
Article published in the Windham County Observer on November 8th 1944: “Sgt Oakley Raglund Is Reported Killed While Over Sweden. Holder Of Distinguished Flying Cross Makes Supreme Sacrifice, According To Grim Word Received By Relatives. T-Sgt. Oakley Raglund, son of Mrs. Clarence Wetherbee of Thompson, was killed Sept 21st over Sweden, according to a telegram received from the War Department. T-Sgt. Raglund received the distinguished flying cross when the flying fortress in which he was chief radio specialist and gunner was engaged in battle with a large number of enemy planes. He had completed 25 missions when his parents last heard from him and he expected to be home within a few weeks on leave. He was married a year ago to Rosalie J. Burgess of St. Louis, He was graduated from Tourtellotte Memorial High School in 1940 and enlisted in the Air Corps in November, 1941. He was sent overseas last April. In addition to his widow and mother, he is survived by two brothers, Kenneth E. and Arthur Wetherbee of Thompson.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I would like to thank Stefan Knutsson who is a caretaker of the Flygmonumenet Vid Anten (the Monument at the Crash Site) near Alingsas Sweden. The crash site is in a densely wooded area just west of the Anten Lake. The monument is a rectangular granite stone surrounded by, and set atop, a sturdy stone wall base. The monument is inscribed with the names of the six airmen who were killed in this plane crash. In front of the stone monument there is a 3-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller from one of the Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines, salvaged from the wreckage of the crashed C-87 (B-24 bomber). Stefan Knutsson also maintains a beautiful website that is a tribute to the six men who were killed in this plane crash. https://www.flygmonumentet.se. I would also like to acknowledge the generosity of the Swedish people who maintain a beautiful monument and grave site at the East Cemetery in Malmo Sweden for the pilot Captain Thomas Campbell and T/Sgt Oakley Raglund. The grave site can be viewed at this web link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xZNVekafi7d96ZmF7
Hometown Heroes is a series published in the Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger with this mission: We owe it to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to make sure that they are never forgotten, and that the memory of their service and sacrifice will forever live on in the hearts and minds of the grateful people of Putnam.
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